Best Day Trips from Lisbon: 12 Top Picks

Day Trips from Lisbon at a Glance

Travel times are approximate and depend on traffic, the service and the time of day. Always check the latest timetable before you go.

Day Trips Close to Lisbon

1. Sintra

Sintra is the most popular day trip from Lisbon, and with reason. In the forested hills northwest of the city, its palaces and gardens form a cultural landscape on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Trains leave from Rossio station in the center of Lisbon and take about 40 minutes.

• Pena Palace. The red and yellow Romantic palace on top of the hill. Entry is by time slot, so book ahead in summer.
• The Moorish Castle. Medieval walls along the ridge, with views over Sintra and the coast.
• Quinta da Regaleira. Gardens, grottoes, tunnels and the famous Initiation Well.
• The town center. Try a travesseiro, a puff pastry filled with almond cream, at Piriquita, a bakery open since 1862.

Tip: take an early train and avoid summer weekends if you can, when the town and the bus up to Pena are at their busiest.

2. Cascais and Cabo da Roca

Cascais, a former fishing village that became a seaside resort for the Portuguese royal family and aristocracy, is an easy day out. Trains from Cais do Sodré take about 40 minutes and run along the river and the Atlantic coast. Walk through the old town, swim at Praia da Rainha or Praia da Conceição, and follow the coast to the Boca do Inferno cliffs.

To the north, Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of mainland Europe, with a lighthouse on high cliffs. You can reach it by bus from Cascais or Sintra, or combine the coast and Sintra in one day on a tour.

3. Costa da Caparica

Across the river, south of Lisbon, the Costa da Caparica is a long stretch of Atlantic beaches with beach bars and surf schools. It is the closest big beach area to the city, about 30 to 45 minutes by bus or car depending on traffic, and it gets busy on summer weekends.

Day Trips North of Lisbon

4. Óbidos

Óbidos is a small medieval village inside castle walls, with whitewashed houses, flowers on the balconies and a main street, Rua Direita, lined with shops. Walk part of the walls for the views, and try ginja, the local sour cherry liqueur, served in a chocolate cup. Express buses from Campo Grande, in Lisbon, take about an hour. The train is slow and not practical for a day trip.

5. Nazaré

Nazaré is a traditional fishing town with a long beach and a clifftop old quarter, the Sítio, reached by funicular. In winter, Praia do Norte, below the lighthouse, has some of the biggest waves surfed anywhere in the world, and crowds gather on the cliffs to watch on big days. In summer, it is a lively beach town.

6. Fátima

Fátima is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world. In 1917, three shepherd children reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary here, and the Sanctuary of Fátima now includes the Chapel of the Apparitions, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary and the large modern Basilica of the Holy Trinity. The sanctuary is busiest around the pilgrimages of May 13 and October 13.

7. Batalha and Alcobaça

Two of Portugal's great monasteries, both on the UNESCO World Heritage list, are close to Fátima and Nazaré. The Monastery of Batalha is a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic, and the Monastery of Alcobaça holds the tombs of King Pedro I and Inês de Castro, one of the most famous love stories in Portuguese history.

Combine them. Óbidos, Nazaré, Fátima and Batalha are hard to link by public transport in one day, so a tour or a rental car is the easiest way to see several of them.

8. Tomar

Tomar was the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal, and later of the Order of Christ. Its Convent of Christ, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, combines a Templar round church with Manueline decoration. Trains from Lisbon take about two hours.

Day Trips South and East of Lisbon

9. Évora

Évora, the main city of the Alentejo, has a historic center on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1986. In a few hours you can see the Roman Temple, the Cathedral, the Church of São Francisco and its Chapel of Bones, lined with human bones and skulls, and walk inside the old city walls. Trains from Lisbon take about an hour and a half to two hours. The Alentejo is also one of Portugal's main wine regions.

10. Arrábida and Setúbal

South of Lisbon, the Arrábida Natural Park is a range of green hills that drops into a turquoise sea, with sheltered coves such as Galapinhos and Portinho da Arrábida. Nearby Setúbal is known for its fish market and fried cuttlefish, choco frito, and for the dolphins that live in the Sado estuary. You need a car or a tour to explore the coves, as access is limited in summer.

Long Day Trips: Porto and the Algarve

11. Porto

Porto is possible in a day by train, about 3 hours each way, but it is a long day. If you go, focus on the Ribeira district, the Dom Luís I Bridge, the Sé and a port wine cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia. With more time, one or two nights in Porto are much better.

12. The Algarve

A day trip from Lisbon to the Algarve is often searched for, but it is hard to recommend. The fastest train to Faro takes about 3 hours each way, and the most famous beaches and cliffs, around Lagos and Benagil, are farther west. You would spend most of the day traveling. The Algarve works much better as a stay of a few nights, or as part of a Lisbon and Algarve trip.

Day Trips from Lisbon by Train

If you do not want to drive or join a tour, these are the easiest day trips by train:

Óbidos is better by express bus, and Nazaré, Fátima, Batalha and Arrábida are easier by car or on a tour.

Tips for Day Trips from Lisbon

• Start early. Popular places like Sintra and Óbidos are calmest before mid-morning.
• Book timed tickets. Pena Palace and other busy sights use time slots in high season.
• Think about a tour for the north. Óbidos, Nazaré, Fátima and Batalha are far apart and hard to combine by bus.
• Do not overdo it. One day trip for every three or four days in Lisbon keeps the trip relaxed.